Orthodontic treatment is generally carried out by way of orthodontic brackets, with which the positioning of an individual's teeth are brought into an optimising alignment. In particular, there are three correcting measures or movements, crown angulation in a mesio-distal direction which is known as tipping, angulation or tilting; crown angulation in the bucco-lingual direction which is indicated as torque; and rotation with regard to the occlusal view. The bracket forms the engagement point for all forces to carry out these movements. An archwire serves as a force-exerting or force-transmitting means on the brackets and it must be held or guided on or in the orthodontic bracket. The fixation of the archwire on the orthodontic bracket may be affected in different ways. Thus the brackets may be provided with suitable tubelets, hoes, or wings. These fixation means then permit the archwire to be fixed in a desired position relative to the orthodontic bracket by way of metal ligatures, rubber O-rings, or U-springs. Most orthodontic bracket known in the art is provided with a slot, into which the archwire may be inserted more or less with a positive fit. In order to carry out a correction as accurately as possible, in the slot, a type of groove shaped in a U-shaped manner must fit together with the archwire to achieve a positive fit. However, considering the fact that the different angulations, specifically the tipping or the torque, should achieve angular corrections per tooth of 0°-13° or of −12° to 28° respectively, and simultaneously a rotation is take place, the shaping of the archwire unavoidably results in the influencing of the forces on adjacent teeth, since in most cases the slot leads to an over definition which results in undesired influences.
In general, there are two types of brackets the first type having arch thickness of 0.018 inches (0.46 mm) times 0.022 inches (0.56 mm), and the second type having arch thickness of 0.002 inches (0.56 mm) times 0.025 inches (0.65 mm). There are also a large number of different tubelets for the 8 molars in the lower and upper jaw. U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,832 describes a bracket which permits an orthodontic archwire more play than all previously known edgewise brackets. The bracket permits an orthodontic manner of treatment which combines the great advantages of different bracket types. The fine adjustment at the end of the treatment, in particular the individual inclination or torque control is a problem in all systems since orthodontic archwires with a large cross section are required for this, thus provoking large interdental forces even with small bending.
An ultimate and very complicated solution for achieving the greatest possible precision is described by Dirk Wiechmann. He allows brackets to be manufactured for each individual tooth and each individual patient by way of CAD/CAM and the rapid-prototyping method, and then also uses archwires which are manufactured by a computer-controlled bending machine. This system however is limited given greatly crowded teeth and large rotations, despite this unique, extremely large and cost-intensive effort.
It is evident that a large number of the most varied, highly complicated parts are offered for the 28 teeth of the human which however do not aid the dentist in carrying out his work in suitably precise manner.
In addition, the above described are limited because the patient may prevent the technical precision with which the brackets are manufactured from being conferred to the teeth, due to his limited opening of the mouth, his limited willingness to keep still, on account of the saliva flow and the tone of the lips, cheeks and tongue.
PCT Publication No. WO 03/075782 discloses the bonding of orthodontic fixing elements in a precise position on the dental surface is extremely difficult. The invention relates to a kit for this purpose, consisting of orthodontic fixing elements, whose bonding surface is curved in a convex manner in at least one direction. This ensures that the shape of the element is adapted to the tooth by means of the adhesive. According to the invention, a protector, equipped with a recess that forms the complement of the orthodontic fixing element, is provided. The orthodontic fixing element comprising the protector is applied by being held in an applicator, equipped with various directional locators, by means of a positive-fit, in such a way that a correct positioning can be clearly identified.